Utility customers decry sky-high power bills despite storm outages

After going without power for eight days because of Hurricane Irma, Nancy Feeney of Tavares figured her electric bill would drop.

Instead, the Duke Energy customer’s tab jumped to $457 from her last bill of $222.

“Highest bill I ever, ever had,” said the 77-year-old widow, who lives on a fixed income. “It just floored me when I opened it.”

Numerous people have complained about higher bills from a variety of utilities despite going without electricity for days because of power outages caused by Hurricane Irma, which battered Central Florida last month.

Some reported their bills lowered or were the same, but dozens of comments on social media claimed bills were dras-

tically higher and were told their readings were accurate when they complained to their providers.

The Leesburg Electric Department, for example, said bill increases may have been caused by A/C units kicking into overtime because of a hot September. But the average highs in Leesburg went down 1.9 degrees from August to September, according to National Weather Service data.

That’s the same for Metro Orlando, where average highs dropped nearly 3 degrees over the same period.

“My roommates and I were left without power for a total of six days … yet our bill was higher than ever,” Clermont resident Stephanie Borrell wrote in an email. “Normally, it’s around $100 but they [Duke] are charging us $160 for the month.”

Utilities said that the technology isn’t perfect and encouraged residents to reach out if they see problems.

“A meter is a piece of equipment, and equipment can fail,” said Duke spokeswoman Peveeta Persaud, adding that customer complaints always spike after a major storm like Irma, during which 1.3 million Duke customers lost power in Florida.

She couldn’t say how many customers complained about being overcharged, as Duke doesn’t track complaints by type.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke had to quell customers’ panic in the Tampa Bay area after it sent billing estimates that were as much as three times a typical invoice last month.

“We have been receiving inquiries to our customer service as a result of many of our estimated billings,” Persaud said. “Because of the hurricane, we have suspended late fees and things like that.”

Fruitland Park resident Jennifer Davis, 65, received a visit from Gene Spurlock, who recently took over as Leesburg Electric Department director, after reporting that her bill jumped to $160 from $129 the previous month.

Her usage report showed that she consumed the most electricity on Sept. 11 — a day she didn’t have power.

“The usage report that I received from the city was nothing like the usage report that they showed me,” Davis said. “They have a lot of research to do, period.”

After investigating it further, Leesburg spokesman Derek Hudson said officials can’t explain the spike.

“There was a little tricky thing and I’m not sure what it is,” he said. “We’re looking into that.”

About 16,000 of Leesburg’s 24,000 customers lost electricity during the storm that left millions of Floridians without power.

In Tavares, Feeney’s boyfriend and neighbor, Jim Knuckles, 73, said he was “dumbfounded” over the $457 bill.

“Nancy can’t afford it, I can’t afford it,” he said.

Duke reached out to the couple after being contacted by a reporter about the bill.

“They tested both my meter and Nancy’s here and said they were both accurate,” he said. “They could not explain why it jumped up nearly 200 percent in usage.”

A Duke employee told Feeney and Knuckles the utility will review the test results and contact them again.